If you look at it logically, there is no way Andrew Flintoff should play for Lancashire on Friday night.

Since it was revealed in M.E.N. Sport last Friday that the former England captain had re-signed for the Red Rose, tickets for the NatWest T20 Blast clash against old rivals Yorkshire have been selling faster than one of Freddie’s bouncers.

Lancashire fans, and cricket supporters in general, are desperate to see the return of one of English cricket’s most popular players for decades.

In his heyday he was one of the few players who emptied the bars as he walked to the crease. And even now, five years after his last senior match, he still has that pull.

But the reason why he shouldn’t, by rights, play on Friday is the fact he hasn’t played at this level since that final Ashes Test at The Oval in 2009.

Ask any of his Lancashire team-mates and they will tell you he has been impressive in the nets at Emirates Old Trafford with both bat and ball. And he showed glimpses of it while playing for St Annes in the Northern League on Saturday. And tomorrow he is back in action, playing for Lancashire seconds in their T20 finals day at Arundel.

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But neither outings are close to the level of a Roses match played out in front of a full house at Emirates Old Trafford and shown live on Sky.

Lancashire go into Friday’s crunch match on the back of four successive wins. Tomorrow night is the biggest game the team will be involved in all season unless they get to one of the one-day finals.

One player will have to drop out to make way for the returning Jos Buttler.

But Buttler is England’s first-choice wicketkeeper in one-day cricket, is on the verge of a Test call-up and showed against Sri Lanka on Saturday at Lord’s that he is one of the most distructive batsmen in the world at the moment. It is understandable that he should walk straight back into the side.

But to ask another player – who has spent all winter preparing for the season – to make way for someone who has played just one club game and, at most, two T20 second team games in the last five years seems absolutely ludicrous. Which is why, on paper, Flintoff shouldn’t even be under consideration for a return on Friday.

Lancashire have said all along Freddie will play only if it makes sense for cricketing reasons. On the face of it, bringing in Flintoff on Friday doesn’t make any sense at all.

But as they say, sport isn’t played on paper. It is played in an arena and is played with heart, passion and skill. And this isn’t just any other player bidding to return, This is one of the best all-rounders this country has ever seen. He can win a match single-handedly with both bat and ball.

A fired-up Freddie was always a sight to behold.

Now imagine a fired-up Freddie who has five years of frustration just ready to explode, charging in from the Statham End in front of 16,000 fans live on TV. Just imagine what wonders he could produce. Which is why Lancashire have a real dilemma on their hands.